Salman Khan at the launch of his ‘Being Human’ flagship clothing store in Mumbai Jan. 17

Bollywood actor Salman Khan now faces a fresh charge for his alleged involvement in a 2002 hit-and-run case.

On Thursday, a local Mumbai court agreed to add the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, following an appeal by a public prosecutor.

Till now, Mr. Khan was being tried for rash and negligent driving, for a car accident on Sept 28, 2002, which left one man dead and at least three people injured.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Khan declined to comment on Friday.

Rash driving attracts a maximum punishment of two years, but under the homicide charge, a person can be sentenced to jail for up to 10 years.

Mr. Khan’s lawyer Dipesh Mehta on Friday told The Wall Street Journal that he plans to challenge the decision to add the homicide charge.

The original case against Mr. Khan has been in court since 2005, and one local activist claims that the Mumbai police has deliberately tried to prolong the trial. Earlier this week, a Mumbai court ordered an inquiry into these allegations made by activist Santosh Daundkar.

The police denied these allegations in court. On Friday, a spokesman for Mumbai police didn’t immediately comment.

Mr. Khan’s lawyer also denied that the case is being drawn out. “Because this is a high profile case, there is a lot of speculation,” said Mr. Mehta.

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